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21 September 2011

Hillside Estate, on the eastern shore of Lake Okanagan just north of Penticton, is one of five wineries in Canada making Pinotage. But no more. After three successful years the 2009 vintage, bottled in October 2010, is sadly the last.

The winery make a wide range of wines and have decided to concentrate on varieties they grow themselves. I learned that Hillside doesn't grow Pinotage but obtain the grapes from Stoneboat Vineyards in Oliver some 40 kms south.

At the tasting room, pictured belowtheir 2009 Pinotage was listed with the words 'sold out' written over the message that because of demand purchasers were limited to three bottles.

However Hillside's bistro has some Pinotage stocks remaining for sale by the glass, so we decided to lunch there and sample the last release from this winery.

The wine was taut and restrained with some tight tannins. Dark cherry and blackberry flavours over a meaty core and forceful tannins. This is a big and serious wine which would reward keeping. But the only way to do that is to persuade the bistro to sell you a bottle at bistro prices. Alternatively it is currently available by the glass for $9.50.

15 September 2011

Pinotage, which is the national red grape of South Africa, is one of the best kept secrets in the wine world, as it almost always works beautifully with hard cheeses, such as Gouda, cheddar, and Gruyére. It is often quite inexpensive, but the lower-priced versions can be inconsistent, often throwing an unpleasant taste of burnt rubber on the finish. Yet when paired with almost any hard cheese, it seems to come to life.

"Dark Lady of the Labyrinth" is 100 percent Pinotage of very high quality. Black cherry, melted liquorice, and spicy cloves wrap around a core of dark chocolate and rich coffee. While a lesser Pinotage works well with a mild cheddar or Swiss, it takes a full-bodied Pinotage like "Dark Lady" to stand up to the intense flavors of a powerful cheese such as the Beemster Classic.

About Me

Peter F May is the founder of The Pinotage Club, an international cyber-based fan club for wines made from the Pinotage variety.
Peter was awarded Honorary Membership of the producers Pinotage Association in 2004 and was a judge at the annual Pinotage Top 10 Competition in 2004 and 2005.
Peter is a wine writer, educator and author. His book PINOTAGE: Behind the Legends of South Africa's Own Wine may ordered below and from Amazon.
Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape - odd wines from around the world was published in summer 2006.
Peter answers all polite emails - contact him at peter (at) pinotage (dot) org .

A I Perold's
A Treatise
on Viticulture
A I Perold (1880-1941) was South Africa's first Professor of Viticulture and Oenology. He dedicated himself to improving the quality of grapes for wine, brandy and the table. He studied wine and brandy production in Europe, imported more than 60 varieties to the Cape and bred new ones. Perold said this book “is intended to serve both the student and the practical grape-grower. There are in it technical passages that will appeal more to the student, e.g. the chapters dealing with the biology of the vine, its external and internal morphology, the theory of grafting. My remarks on the practice of viticulture, such as those dealing with the propagation, manuring and pruning of the vine, the production of table grapes for export, will, it is hoped, assist the practical grape-grower as well as the student.” This is a newly typeset reprint, not a photocopy. Text on the 712 pages have been aligned to match the original pagination so any external references to pages in the Treatise will be valid in this edition
Available in paperback and hardback editions. 712 pages